Flowers Poem by Ibn Ali

I grew up in a maze of bricks
And never knew the Sunflower's pride
I knew mortar
Graffitied walls
Goalposts etched under 'no ball game' signs
Where future stars aspired
But how can I go back
After I've seen the Lily blush
A bedspread of rapeseed sprawled on a country field
Or Pointsettias
Whose velvet rouge
Would better suit a prince's robe
Iris, Lavender, Mint
The French would crush in groves for some drips of perfume they distill
Roses, who could forget those
The lover's flower
Wonder why the lovers love it
Is it the contrast of the petals
With the thorns that they must covet
To show how every good is covered
And there's an obstacle in front of every goal
How could I go back to edges
Now that I know colour
Me, I came from weeds
But they endure
And I learnt to persevere
Moss grown without a carer to care
Through stone
This much I know
But still, beauty is pampered
Frail as she is fleeting
C'est la vie